In gas turbine engines, when two pieces of sheet metal of substantially different thickness are overlapped for welding, the quality of the weld is poor. The penetration of weld from thin sheet metal to thick sheet metal is not satisfactory, causing poor quality welds. Due to the design requirements (e.g., stiffness, weight, etc. . . . ), it is not always possible to thicken up or thin down a piece of sheet metal forming a part of the engine. Alternative methods of producing a part with varying thicknesses along the part, such as flow forming a detail, are costly.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved welded engine part and method which addresses these and other limitations of the prior art, and it is therefore an object of this invention to do so.